Final destination

Greg Theoharis visits Budapest, a city rich with dynamic architecture, paprika-filled goulash and a chill that will bring out the rose-colour in your cheeks. Welcome to one of the most beautiful capitals Europe has to offer

The compressed air enveloping us on our Easyjet flight out from Gatwick could not have prepared us for the savage chill that met us as we disembarked. Beyond freezing. Minus four in fact. Raising a sardonic Central European eyebrow as he loaded our cases into the boot, our taxi driver chuckled and revealed in broken English that, ‘This is varm. In February vee have sometimes minoos 14!’ We couldn’t get to the hotel fast enough.

Majestically overlooking the Danube on the Pest half of the capital, the Four Seasons Gresham Palace did not disappoint. Built in 1903 for the Gresham Life Company, the building became renowned for its Art Nouveau influenced structure designed by Hungary’s leading architect Zsigmund Quittner but sadly, due to the ravages of war and subsequent neglect, the building was left to grow derelict. Thankfully, the Four Seasons hotel chain stepped in and in 2004 the Gresham Palace opened its doors, fully restored and prepared for the imminent demands of Hungary’s entry into the European fraternity.

As a consequence of the borders of Europe melting away, the lobby echoed with myriad accents and dialects emanating from around the continent and beyond. And far from descending into a Babel-esque cacophony, it is in fact testament to Hungary’s steady arrival onto the world stage after the dark days of the Socialist era.

Staffed by and large by native Hungarians, the hotel has an excellent concierge service who gave us a detailed map and circled several important destinations we had to visit. The Strudel House was a definite, as was the Great Market Hall, to sample some of the local way of life. According to the concierge, ‘Budapest is not a place for shopping like you would in London or New York.’ What transpired was that food was very much something to be appreciated here and that you couldn’t leave without purchasing an obligatory packet of paprika and sampling some hot goulash.

By now we were feeling suitably adventurous enough to venture into the freezer. Andrea, the hotel’s avuncular restaurant manager saw us on our way and advised that Hungarians generally in this climate only walk distances if they have an endpoint to arrive at. As tourists we cheerfully brushed off such sage advice and made our way on foot to the Great Market Hall insulated with several thick layers of robust material. If mad dogs and Englishmen go out into the noonday sun, my brain is still being racked for the freezing equivalent. Pure folly you might say. But invigorating nonetheless.

The market is a cornucopia of visual imagery bulging with rich red, freshly ground paprika, whole pigs ready for roasting and layer upon layer of intricately embroidered material waiting to be transformed into unique fashion garments. The main hall is teeming with locals stocking up on fresh produce. The jibber-jabber of bartering and banter echoed around us as we sauntered among the throng. It was very true. Hungarians always have a destination in mind.

So taking heed of this, we elected to ride Budapest’s metro. A far more pleasant experience than your average underground journey in London in that at each stop a Glenn Miller-esque melody emanated from the speakers fan-faring your arrival. A quaint touch that might actually swing a mayoral election.

Not so quaint, but no less innovative, was Budapest’s award-winning Terror Museum, recounting the years of Nazi occupation and Communist rule endured by Hungary’s people. We’d never been to a museum whose aim was to bring the ghosts of history to life using such a variety of interactive methods. Sobering and informative, the museum is a monument to those who have not lived to see Hungary’s new-found freedoms.

After such travails, we hurriedly made our way back to the hotel to warm our bones with thick, steaming goulash, just one of the exquisite dishes on offer from the hotel’s two in-house restaurants. You can opt for the less formal Gresham Café or if you’re feeling extravagant, Páva offers a superb six-course degustation menu with wine to complement each course. Either way, for those of you feeling increasingly ostracised in the wake of the smoking ban, it’s quite a guilty pleasure to be able to light one up after an evening of fine fare. And as a nightcap, be sure to visit the hotel bar and order a warm, cinnamon-laced cider. It thankfully did not deliver nasty flashbacks of the taste of underage drinking, but rather like mama’s home-made apple pie in a steaming glass.

The following morning, the adjoining city of Buda was beautifully carpeted in sparkling snow and heartened by our intrepidness the previous day, we ventured across the grand Chain Bridge to take in the gothic charms of the city’s old town. The vernicular transports you in a matter of seconds (saving a steep climb) to the top where Buda Castle Palace greets you in all its dominant glory. Now housing a number of museums, it was once the abode of several royal residents, including our very own Charles III. It offers a breathtaking view of the city as life goes on beneath you.

We wandered the winding cobbled streets that were lined with multi-coloured houses, inviting cafés and market stalls tucked into nooks and crannies. Round another corner loomed the Fisherman’s Bastion which conjured images of Rapunzel’s hideaway flanked by the Szabó Marzipan Museum, housing effigies of Elvis and Princess Diana – the Brothers Grimm in 3D. Walking back down to the banks of Danube meant passing building after building, some displaying walls riddled with bullet holes from the war. While it felt horribly apparent, the view that we had just experienced at the top was enough to realise that despite the city’s torrid 20th-century history, Budapest as a whole is a stunning feat of architecture and well worth seeing for its incredible restoration.

Equally apparent but nonetheless spectacular was the Communist Statue Park on the outskirts of the city, housing remnants from a bygone era. The formerly imposing figure of Lenin orating and groups of marching, furrow-browed workers suddenly took on a serenity, hitherto absent from common perceptions of the days before the watershed year of 1989. As the snow quietly settled around the enormous stone figures and tourists snapped their snaps, the contexts with which these monuments to conformity were associated with now seemed obsolete. Objects of wonder; like the dinosaurs of South Kensington. Their power forever neutralised but a testimony to where – from and to – Hungary is headed.

So in the end, the cold didn’t really matter. As we prepared to leave, the many hours of tramping around Buda and Pest had delivered us to this conclusion. It doesn’t matter how you leave the building. It only matters if you have a destination in mind. Hungarians know this. Just don’t forget your scarf.

Easyjet has daily flights to Ferihegy Budapest International Airport from London Gatwick. Visit www.easyjet.com for bookings. Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace Budapest offers double rooms from €255 per room per night on a bed and breakfast basis. The spa offers a variety of treatments treatments from 6am–10pm every day. For rates and reservations, please visit www.fourseasons.com/budapest or call 00 800 6488 6488.